Captivating Cato
by Burning Bunny Books
Summary: Although it is forbidden, Katniss and Cato are drawn towards each other. Their love is divine, but dangerous, and will conquer all those that oppose it. Katniss/Cato Catoniss
1. Enchanting Elevator

**I**** don't own the Hunger Games.**

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_**"TO LOVE IS TO RECEIVE A GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN."**_

_**~KAREN** **SUNDE**_

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Katniss's POV

Cinna pulled Peeta and I out of the chariot, as Portia extinguished the flames.

"I'm going to our room, okay?" Peeta muttered.

"Sure," I smiled. He gave my hand a squeeze and trudged away through the crowd.

We were amazing. The crowd loved us! I couldn't believe that people had actually been throwing flowers at me. I even blew kisses at them. That side of me had never been seen before. Glancing around, I noticed that all of the tributes were sending threatening glares at us...except one.

A muscular boy, with blonde hair, just laughed in my direction. I checked behind me, but nothing was there. Confused, I peeked at him again, yet he was the same as before.

_What? Why was he laughing?_ Noticing that my gaze had stopped on him, the boy winked at me, still smiling.

"Well done, sweetheart." I turned around to see Haymitch behind me. He frowned, realising where my attention had been. "He's from district two I think. Part of the Careers so he's trouble."

Slowly, I returned my sight to the boy, who was now talking to his prep team. "What's his name?" I murmured, my eyes still glued to him.

"Does it matter?" Haymitch sighed, "Katniss, stay away from him."

"His name?" I asked again, stubbornly.

"Cato. Don't do anything stupid okay?"

Cato._ Cato. _So that was his name. I couldn't help, but wonder why he was laughing. It probably didn't mean anything. Was he just doing it to unnerve me? If that was it, it was definitely working. Or maybe he knew something that I didn't. Could it be that - "_Katniss!_ Are you listening to me?"

"Hmm? Yeah."

With a shake of his head, Haymitch said, "Just go to your room and get some rest. Keep away from all the Careers." It was an order instead of a request this time. Deciding that clearing my head would probably be a good idea, I made my way to an elevator.

After pressing the button to my floor, I leaned against the wall. Exhaustion took over, and my eyes drifted shut as I listened to the doors closing. When they were only slightly ajar, a slow, deep voice surprised me.

"Room for one more?"

Opening only one eye, I shot a sceptical glance at the man before me, who held the door open. Surprised, my breath hitched at who it was: muscular frame, ruffled blonde hair and those icy turquoise eyes. Of course it was none other than Cato.

"Do what you want." My voice was quieter than I had meant for it to be and it embarrassingly had a slight shake to it.

"Hm? I didn't quite hear you."

"Do what you want," I repeated, my voice slightly louder and firmer. With a mental pat on the back for my voice not quivering, I straightened myself and looked directly up at Cato, staring him down with a refusal to appear weak. His intense, blue eyes pierced through my dull, grey ones; it took all of my willpower to not flinch away. Slowly, he stepped forwards and cocked his head to the side, leaning towards me. It wasn't until I hit my back on the side of the elevator that I realised I was backing away from him.

"I don't think it would be a very good idea if I did whatever I wanted," he murmured, his face now so close to mine that his breath was tickling me. The doors shut once more, leaving me to be the prey of this ruthless monster.

"Why's that?" I gasped. He had a cruel smirk on his face, whilst he put his hands up on the side of the elevator on opposite sides of my head.

"Because," he whispered into my ear, "It would cause a lot of trouble for everybody else." I couldn't reply. Cato knew he had me trapped and enjoyed watching me squirm.

"So what? Go cause trouble if you want to."

He chuckled drily and said, "Maybe I will, fire girl."

"Katniss," I corrected. "My name's Katniss."

I expected him to come back with a snobby answer on how if you're from District 12, then your'e scum who's name doesn't matter, but after a moment of silence, he finally went a couple of steps back. As my personal space returned, I let out a breath that I didn't realise I was holding.

"Nice to meet you, Katniss." The way he said my name rolled off his tongue easily. There was a pang in my heart when I noticed that I liked the way it sounded.

_Wait. I didn't like him, did I? No, of course not! He's a Career. That's ridiculous._

My cheeks reddened into a warm blush. He grinned, amused. The smile was genuine, unlike the capitol's fake ones and there was a twinkle in his eyes. _Those eyes! _There was a hint of playfulness in them now. Somehow, even though he was still messing with me, I ended up getting a small smile too, feeling more comfortable.

"So you're not going to tell me your name?" I teased, attempting to clear my thoughts.

"Well, I expected for you to already know." Keeping a straight face, I raised my eyebrow.

"Cato," he laughed. "Career from district two." I looked him up and down, sniggering at his golden Roman costume. "What?" He pouts, searching around him for whatever it was that I found amusing.

"It's just," I giggled, "As if anybody can't tell that you're a career from that ridiculous outfit."

"Ha, bloody, ha." Despite his sarcastic tone, he had a large grin and...so did I. _What the hell? I was actually enjoying myself with a Career like him. What's wrong with me? _As I cleared my throat, I suddenly jumped from the doors opening.

Without glancing back, I rushed out, leaving my strange conversation with Cato behind.

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	2. Close Call

**I don't own The Hunger Games**

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Katniss's POV

"Stick together?" Peeta asked.

"Sure," I agreed.

It had been a few hours since my 'chat' with Cato. Peeta and I were getting ready for our first training session. Nervous, we peeked through the door before entering the room. Hundreds of various equipment spread itself throughout the room. Instantly, my eyes locked on the area in the middle. It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen.

Bows. Arrows. So many different kinds of them! In a trance, I automatically started stumbling towards them, with no thought about the Hunger Games or the other tributes around me. A hand on my shoulder shook me out of my daze.

"Don't even think about it," Peeta whispered.

"What?"

"Don't you remember what Haymitch said? Hide all of our skills. Don't let the others know."

"Oh, yeah. He did say something like that, didn't he?" I glanced at Peeta and then looked back longingly at the bows and arrows. They were so close! My body was itching for just a feel of them.

"C'mon." Grabbing my arm gently, he led us further into the room. It was now that I actually started paying attention to my surroundings. Most of the tributes were here already, but they didn't seem to be paying attention to us. We spent about twenty minutes at each station. After visiting the Camouflage Station, we started heading for the Basic Survivals one. On our way, we passed the careers. I couldn't help but stop and stare. All of them were watching Clove.

With a great fervour, she was passionately throwing knife after knife at different targets around her, each time hitting them dead in the centre. When her last one did yet another perfect hit, she turned around with a malicious grin on her face, greeted by her cheering allies.

I hadn't seen Cato since the elevator incident. I'd been avoiding him during the whole training session, but now, as Clove jumped with joy, our eyes locked with an intensity. _Look away. Look away. _My mind kept telling me to, but I couldn't move. Noticing him take a hesitant step towards me, I whipped my body around and began walking away, with Peeta right behind me.

"Hey!" Cato yelled at me, causing me to speed up.

I murmured to Peeta, "I'm going out for a little break."

"I'll come with you."

"No," I said a bit too quickly. "I mean, I just want to be on my own for a bit," I added. He paused, and then nodded.

"Okay." Although I hadn't been training for very long, I was feeling far too stuffy. Hoping that going for a walk would clear my mind, I headed for the roof.

Tranquillity washed over me as I swallowed my first breath of fresh air. Before I knew it, I was gasping and spluttering. I never realised how crowded it was inside. Back in District Twelve, I used to always go hunting whenever I needed to get away from everyone. However, I had nowhere to go here in the Capitol. That's probably why my first instinct was to go to the roof; it's the only place I could breathe.

A metal railing that I stood about a meter away from was lined along the edge of the roof. Bored, I picked up a pebble from the ground and pelted it over the railing. Sometimes, Gale and I used to have competitions with each other at home, throwing stones into a lake. Whoever got it the furthest would win. Memories of easier days with him in the forest invaded me.

After only a few seconds of having thrown the pebble, I was left astonished. Out of nowhere, the pebble came whizzing back up, grazing my hair slightly, but otherwise leaving me unharmed. I literally felt the wind of the ultimately close contact. If that hit my eye, I could have gone blind!

Astounded, I ran over to the edge to see what idiot had thrown the small rock at me. However, I was greeted by nothing but a very high view of the Capitol. No way could anybody have gotten it up here from down there. Frowning, I picked up another pebble and chucked it yet again, preparing for another possible attack from somebody.

Nothing happened.

Satisfied, I began to head for the exit to find Peeta again, until I heard a smash behind me. Turning around, I found many little rock fragments from a stone hitting the floor at a strong force. After a few more times of redoing this, I still got the same result. With a bit more attention being paid, I noticed that it was much like a force field. It probably even was. Every time I threw something down, it always came right back up again. I even tried throwing sticks too, whereby the same thing took place.

Grinning, I explored for more things to throw. This was actually quite fun. There were many rose bushes around, so I figured I might try some of them. _They wouldn't miss them would they? No! Of course not. The Capitol could easily afford to buy more roses._ Plenty surrounded me in various colours. I began reaching for some white ones, but immediately flinched away. President Snow always had a white rose on him.

Instead, I picked lots of red ones, arranging them into a neat bouquet. Accidently, I pricked my finger on one of the thorns.

"Ouch!" I hissed. Cursing, I held the bundle of roses with better care. As I got near the railing, I peered over it. The Capitol, as much as I hated it, really was a magnificent sight. It was colossal with insanely tall skyscrapers that towered above me.

Wishing for a clearer view, I began climbing over the railing and stood on top of it. I wasn't scared since if I fell, I knew I would be thrown back up again, just like everything else I had tossed. I stood, gazing at the city for only a few moments. I could have looked at it all day if I had the choice. A sudden shout from behind startled me out of my fantasy.

"_NO!_"

The shock of the voice caused me to begin wobbling, fear gripping me, although I knew I wouldn't die. All of my roses dropped from my hands. Attempting to regain my balance, I watched the roses drop over the edge.

They got smaller and smaller until I couldn't see them at all anymore.

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**-Burning Bunny Books**


	3. Saved Suicide

**I don't own The Hunger ****Games.**

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Cato's POV

I felt so drawn towards her unlike any other girl I had ever met. There was something different about her. Don't get me wrong. I definitely didn't like her. She was poor, tacky and from District Twelve. No way could a guy like me like her. No, seriously. I _didn't _like her. I definitely _did not._ Sure, I spent most of last night thinking about her, but not for any particular reason.

It could be I just missed home. There were plenty of hot girls lining up for me back there. I guess there's not many choices for me here. The only few decent looking ones around were Katniss, Clove and Glimmer. However, Clove was basically family to me. We grew up much like siblings. Glimmer was just clingy and annoying. That left only Katniss behind.

I have to admit though that her feistiness interested me. Again, _I did not like her_. I just liked her innocence, tinted with rebellion and how unpredictable she was. Take what had just happened now for example.

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Yesterday, she had basically run off from me. Business was left unsettled and I was agitated. I had only been teasing her. When she left the elevator without turning around, I felt like she had just flipped me off.

Since then, she had been avoiding me. Now though, our eyes locked. This time I wanted to turn around and leave - let her see what it's like to be ignored! _Turn around. Turn around. You twat. Why aren't you turning around?_ I was begging myself to just move or at least break eye contact, but I was stuck in place. Her brown orbs burned right through my blue ones. Getting weak kneed, I began cursing silently to myself. _Get a grip!_

Before I knew it, her back was turned and she was going the other way.

_No way! _This was just like yesterday in the elevator all over again. The same gut wrenching feeling was creeping up on me again. _What was this_? I only ever got like this after being with Katniss. Was this... _rejection?_

"Hey!" I yelled before I knew what I was doing. I'm_ Cato! I don't get rejected. I reject others. _Was it just me or did she speed up after hearing me? Annoyed, I followed after her through the exit.

"Cato!" Clove grabbed my arm, but I just shook her off and left.

After a whole ten minutes wasted trying to find her, I tried the roof. As I came out, the sight that I was about to see of her made me snap.

She stood, holding a bunch of cherry red roses in her hands, next to the railing. Dazed, I watched her climb up and stand with no hesitation on the railing. She actually looked flawless, captivating me with her bewitching radiance. The breeze whipped her long, delicate hair behind her in the wind.

This was the moment that the most petrifying thought I've ever had burst through me, making my blood curdle:

_She's going to kill herself._

"_NO!_" I howled, racing towards her. I regretted shouting instantly as I saw her wobble and nearly drop with the roses. My heart stopped when she was balancing barely on one foot. I got to her just in time.

Wrapping my arms around her waist, I tugged her with all of my strength into a tight embrace. I pulled so hard that we ended up tumbling together on the gravelly floor. Eventually, we both stopped rolling. I was sprawled out on my back with her laying on top of me, leaning on my chest. Panting heavily, we both stayed in the same position for a few moments, catching our breaths.

At first I thought I was hallucinating. All around, hundreds of red petals floated down on us. It was all a dream, I thought. Flinching, Katniss began getting up - or at least I thought she was. Instead of standing, she sat in a position so that her legs snaked around me, as she rubbed a sore part of her neck.

_Oh crap. _I wasn't hurt enough to oblivious to what was going on now. Katniss Everdeen was on top of me. I could feel a pressure building in my pants and it took all of my self control to not flip her over now and do all sorts to her. No man would be able to resist getting turned on in a situation like this. I couldn't help, but desire her. Her brown locks were cascading down her face and tickling mine, with her seductive lips pink and plump, so close to me, beckoning me to kiss them. To also have her straddling me right over my erection and panting so heavily on top of me, I couldn't help getting hard.

I mentally punched myself. How could I be like this towards a girl who literally just attempted to commit suicide. _I really am messed up._ As much as I tried to stop these thoughts, they wouldn't go away so long as she stayed where she was. Completely oblivious to the effect she had on me, she watched in wonder at the endless petals falling around us. I moaned in pain and lust, accidentally catching her attention. Snapping out of her trance, she looked down at me bewildered, and then suddenly angrily.

"What the hell?!" Katniss growled, "Why did you do that?"

"I couldn't let you go through with it," I gasped.

"It's none of your business what I do!" she screamed.

"Yes it is!" I leaned up into a sitting position; she didn't seem to notice that she was still on top of me. "And you're welcome, by the way."

"What for? For breaking my bones?" I flinched at the scowl on her face.

"For saving your life."

"_When_ did you..." she paused. Her eyebrows knitted together as she looked at the railing behind her. Some sort of realisation hit Katniss as she turned back towards me, eyes wide and mouth gaping. "Wait, did you think I was..." she trailed off, but then sucked in a sharp breath.

"Why were you doing that?" I shouted at her now.

"I..." she said softly.

"_No_! You can't jump."

"But I..."

"Never do that again!" I became aware now that I was violently shaking and my voice was hoarse. Was I actually scared of this girl dying? I didn't even _like _her or care about her, so why did I save her? "I thought...I thought I was going to lose you," I admitted. There was a lump in my throat, like an apple blocking my airway, and my eyes stung. _Oh my God. _This was the feeling I would get whenever I was about to cry as a child. I hadn't cried in years. No way would I start sobbing now. Taking another shuddering breath, I looked away. Why was I getting so worked up over this? It wasn't like I even knew her.

Soft hands tenderly cupped my cheeks, gently pulling my face to look at her again. Startled, I took in Katniss's features: blushed cheeks, eyes flitting with shyness and quivering lips.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. She was about to say something else, but before she could, I pulled her into a tight embrace. I didn't even care what she was from District Twelve anymore. Something about her made me act so differently - so out of character.

"Don't do that again, you hear me? Never do that again. Never even _think_ about doing that again," I ordered sternly, releasing my hold of her. "Promise me you won't."

She looked in pain as she spoke, "But Cato, I - "

"No. Promise me. I don't care what reasons you may have, but you can't give up now. _Promise me!_" There was a moment of silence until she spoke.

"I promise."

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	4. Rosefull Rooftop

**I don't own the Hunger Games.**

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Katniss's POV

I hadn't known what was happening. One moment I was standing on the railing, enjoying the view. The next I was wobbling over the edge. I had been faintly aware of somebody yelling, but you can't blame me for being more concentrated on the fact that I was going to fall. Before I knew it, somebody with an iron grip pulled me off. Whoever it was must have been stupid, since we both ended up rolling on the floor.

At first I was completely out of it. My neck hurt. My body ached. I must've hit my head at least a million times. Sitting up, I had been distracted by the sight around me. Although I was in pain, so many red petals rained down. When my roses had fallen, the force from them being hurled back up must have been pretty strong to make the petals all come undone from the full flowers. It was absolutely beautiful - a complete fantasy.

A moan below me shook me out of it, whereby I was met by a face. I shouldn't have been surprised. Of course it was him. He always caused trouble. I should have known it would have been him.

_Cato._

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_A while later_

"Never do that again!" Why was he shouting at me? I didn't do any -_ oh! _At first I assumed he was just brain dead to think that I had killed myself. He should have known that I would come right back up if I fell. Only now I realised that he didn't know that. To anybody it would have looked like I was about to attempt a suicide. I must be the brain dead one. "I thought...I thought I was going to lose you."

I only started paying attention to him now properly. He looked like an absolute mess. His facial expression was familiar - much like Prim's when I volunteered as tribute to replace her. He looked away. He was ashamed I think of looking weak. The memory of Prim and seeing him like this caused me to soften in understanding. So that I wouldn't alarm him, I slowly held his cheeks, turning his face back to mine.

Working hard to not get upset myself, I whispered "I'm sorry." I couldn't trust my voice to speak properly. I was about to explain to him of his misunderstanding, but he surprised me by pulling me into a bear hug. This was not the Cato I knew. He was meant to be fierce and inhumane. He was meant to be a savage. Maybe I had misjudged him. I quite liked this new Cato. He was not what I thought he would be.

"Don't do that again, you hear me? Never do that again. Never even _think_ about doing that again." I was still leaning against his chest as he held me and spoke these words. He was so warm and comfortable that I was slightly disappointed when he let go of me. "Promise me you won't." I had to make him understand that I wasn't trying to die.

"But Cato, I - "

"No. Promise me. I don't care what reasons you may have, but you can't give up now. _Promise me!_" It was so comforting the way he acted concerned for me. It must have been an act. Why would he care about me? Wouldn't it make things easier if I died now? One less person to hunt down in the arena? However, if this was an act, he was doing a bloody good job at it. He was so intense and emotional. No way could he have been faking it.

I decided to trust him, for better or for worse.

"I promise." He let out a breath of relief, and then started looking uncomfortable. I looked down and my eyes widened in embarrassment. This whole time... I've been straddling him, and I still was. It didn't help that since he'd sat up, our faces were very close to each other.

Coughing, he asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think I'm fine. Just a bit sore. You?"

"I'm alright. Where did you hit your finger?" I looked down and saw it was bleeding.

"Oh, I pricked it earlier on a thorn," I said, popping my finger into my mouth. As I sucked it, Cato became very awkward. He looked around at the petals still falling around us, raising an eyebrow in question towards it all.

"I... I'll tell you later." Embarrassed, I was eager to get out of here. I guess it didn't really matter whether Cato knew I wasn't trying to kill myself or not. I'm sure that he would have reacted that way with anybody. Attempting to get up, a sharp jolt seared through my right leg. Gasping in agony, I collapsed onto the chilly floor, clutching my limp leg.

"What happened!" Cato lunged towards me, helping me up.

"My leg," I hissed through my grinded teeth. Only a few seconds later, he scooped me up in his arms and started carrying me. "What are you doing? Put me down. Put me _down_!"

"You're hurt, aren't you?" he snapped, taking me to the exit.

"Yeah, but..."

"Then shut up. It's my fault that you fell on your leg. I should've been gentler." I had no idea what to say so since I couldn't do anything, I decided to enjoy the ride and relaxed a little. As we walked, I looked into his eyes. Ever since I'd first seen them, I'd found them fascinating.

Yes, they were blue, but that wasn't a sufficient enough description to catch the intensity of them. It wasn't an ordinary blue. They were so icy and cold. I used to think his eyes were like the sea - crystal blue, shimmering and churning. However now it was slightly different. His eyes were no longer the sea, but an ocean, with far more knowledge and complexity hidden inside, and numerous untold secrets. His eyes were a frozen ocean though, full of lots of mysteries. You could no longer hear the waves crashing or see froth flying in the air. Everything was silent whilst he determinedly rushed down the stairs with me in his arms.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"First Aid to get a doctor."

"But all of the doctors are in the Training Room to help out with accidents."

"Okay, we'll go there then," he said.

"No!" I begged, "I don't want any of the other tributes to see me weak. Especially not the reporters or I'll lose sponsors."

"But your leg..." he said, unsure of what to do.

"Please Cato, don't make me go there," I pleaded. He sighed.

"Where should I take you then?" After thinking for a moment, I decided.

"My room."

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	5. Romantic Rush

**I don't own The Hunger Games.**

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Cato's POV

"My room."

"Okay," I nodded, carrying Katniss into the elevator. She was so tiny and light in my arms - a fragile creature. "What floor?"

"Thirty-four," she replied.

"I'm on thirty-four too."

"I thought that floor was for District Twelve's tributes and team only?"

"It usually is like that. I was meant to be on floor eight, but there's a problem with the plumbing. No water will come out in the rooms so we were transferred to your floor."

"Oh," was all she said.

I knew that the way we were acting was forbidden. She definitely knew it too. After all, it's probably never even occurred in history for somebody to date anybody from another district. It was worse for us since our districts were never exactly known for getting along with each other. The doors opened, and I stepped out.

"Which way to your room?" I asked.

"Turn right, and then straight ahead." As I walked around the right corner, Katniss sucked in a sharp breath. "Quick, go back. _Go back_!" she hissed. Immediately, I sprinted back in the direction we came from.

"Who did you see?" I panted.

"I'll explain later. Just go," she urged. Without even meaning to, I automatically proceeded to my room instead of the lift. We were alone. Luckily, it was empty around here. My team were busy doing their jobs or relaxing and Clove was in the training room playing with knives. Carrying Katniss into my room, I searched for somewhere to place her. "Aren't you going to put me down?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Um, yeah." Quickly, I placed her on my bed, and then backed away a couple of steps. Rubbing my neck, I awkwardly watched her.

"What're you scared of?" she questioned. "I don't bite."

"I'm not scared," I laughed.

"Then why do you keep moving away from me?"

"I'm not moving away fro - " Oh, I was. She smirked. "What? Would you like me to come closer?" I changed my tone of voice. If she wanted to play, I could play. I took a few steps closer to her, but she didn't flinch.

"Doesn't bother me," she replied. Although her face and posture was straight and calm, her eyes were shining with playfulness.

"Oh really?" I enquired, getting closer to her, "So this doesn't make you feel any different?" By now, I was already quite close to her, so I was expecting her to become uncomfortable and look away.

Instead, Katniss surprised me by leaning forward until our noses barely grazed and whispered, "Not. At. All," emphasizing each word. At first I was only messing with her, but for some reason, I couldn't get her to back away. Determined to make her realise that I was the dominant one, I grabbed her wrists and pushed her down on the bed. Quickly, before she knew what was happening, I was on top of her and had her pinned down, my face still only an inch away from hers.

"And now?" I grinned.

"You're quite fast," she admitted, feigning defeat, "But not fast enough." At light speed, she slid from underneath me. Suddenly, our roles were reversed, with her on top instead. In response to my shocked expression, she said, "You didn't really think I was just some weak little girl from a poor district, did you?" I couldn't help, but be impressed. After a moment of silence, I burst out laughing. _All this time, I had been misjudging her!_ She wasn't just some poor girl from District Twelve. "What?" she asked, laughing with me.

"Just thinking 'bout something."

"About what?"

"You," I grinned.

"What about me?" she beamed.

"About how you're actually bloody brilliant."

"Well, that I already know," she giggled, and then broke into another fit of chuckles. "Isn't it strange how this is the second time today that I've overpowered you and pinned you down?"

"You did not overpower me!" She didn't even seem to hear me as she carried on speaking.

"After all, I thought that careers were supposed to be a lot stronger."

"I am stronger," I argued.

"If you say so," she snickered, rolling off of me. She leaned against the headboard of my bed and flinched. I had forgotten about her leg.

"One sec." I got up and went to my cupboard, pulling out a medical box. Back home, careers were always trained to be ready for anything. Because of this, I had an advanced knowledge for dealing with injuries.

"What are you doing?"

"Where about does it hurt?" I asked, ignoring her question.

"Ankle." Yet again, I sat beside her on the bed. I was about to reach for her leg, but then I paused.

"May I?"

"As long as you know what you're doing." Reassuringly, I smiled at her and she nodded at me to continue. Holding her foot, I carefully removed her shoe and rolled up the bottom of her suit. The sight of her swollen ankle made me cringe. It was already bruising and was bound to get worse.

"How is it?" Katniss hissed in pain, biting her lip and clenching her fists, as I touched it.

"Broken," I murmured, "I think your ankle is broken." This was not good - really not good. I mean, it was good for me, since that is one less person for me to worry about killing in the arena, but this could potentially be the death of her. _Why did this bother me?_

"But," she whispered desperately, "I'll be okay, right? It'll heal overnight, won't it?" I knew that she was a smart girl. She clearly understood that it would take a long while to get better, but we only had two days left until the Games. Noticing her eyes watering, I sighed.

"It'll probably take about six weeks, judging by how bad it is."

"What? _No! _You know I don't have time," her voice quivered, "Please... Cato..." Her hopeless anguish was too much for me. All of this time, I had been telling myself that I didn't love her - that I _shouldn't. _And yet here I was, wishing that I was the one with the broken ankle instead of her. I was being an idiot and fooling myself when I kept thinking that I only liked being with her because of boredom. I realised all of this now.

I wanted to protect her. I didn't want her to die, but she had to in order of my survival. Maybe though... I could help her enough to be friends with her for just a couple more days. Somebody else could kill her in the arena instead of me. I didn't want to. If I were to die during the Hunger Games, I wanted her to win. However, there might just be a way for me to keep her alive...

I couldn't believe I was about to do this.

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	6. Painful Problems

**I do not own the Hunger Games**

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Katniss's POV

I couldn't believe it. I was going to die. I always knew that I only had a small chance, but I still had a chance. Now I had none. How could this happen? I promised Prim... she can't survive on her own. There's no way that I can count on our mother to look after her. Sure, she's been getting better lately, but what if she zones out all over again when I die? Prim will have nobody then. No... No... _No!_

I couldn't die. I _wouldn't _die. I had to survive this.

"Well, I guess there might be a way," Cato interrupted my thoughts, "But it might be a bit - "

"_Please_," I begged. "Just do it!"

"I don't know if it will work though."

"I don't care. Please try." If there was any way of me being able to get home to Prim, I would take it.

"It could harm you more, or even kill you," he added. This made me hesitate.

"What exactly is it?"

"I never really wanted to volunteer for the Hunger Games. It was already decided as my fate by my family before I was even born." I frowned, wondering why he was telling me this. "I was always more interested in potions and such. I made this at home..." Cato put his arms behind his neck and began twisting the back of a necklace. It was quite simple, with a large diamond shaped stone at the bottom. After removing it, he fiddled with the stone. "Open," he murmured. Confused, I watched closely, as it made a clicking noise, and he carefully opened the stone in half. Inside was a clear liquid.

"So...?" I asked.

"After a lot of studying about medicine, I created this. According to the ingredients, it should be able to cure almost any injury very quickly, depending on how bad it is. If you had a scratch, it would be cured in a few seconds. For a broken ankle, it would take about half a day, compared to six weeks."

"Impossible! Even the capitol don't have this type of technology yet."

"Actually," he murmured, "I think they do. However, they won't release it to the public. It would be a nightmare if everybody had access to this, since they would be almost immortal." It made sense, but I still wasn't sure why he was showing me this.

"Then what's wrong with it?" I wondered.

"It hasn't been tested. I'm not entirely sure if it will work or..." he trailed off.

"But why do you have it?"

"It's my token. I was going to take it into the Games with me in case of an emergency."

"But you would be risking your life if you used it. You just said you weren't sure if it would work," I accused.

"Yeah, I would be. It's better than nothing though. I figured that if I had a really big accident and no medicine, it would be better to discreetly drink the potion than to just let myself die." He seemed to be making sense, but I had so many questions.

"That's true, but that's violation of the rules. I barely got to keep my mocking jay pin, since some idiot thought I could use it as a potential weapon. Didn't the testers see the liquid inside when they were checking the tokens?"

"Nope. It's voice activated." He demonstrated by closing the two pieces of the stone back together again. "Close," he said. There was a little click, and he handed it over to me. "Go on. Try opening it." I tugged the sides, and tried twisting it the way he did, but nothing happened.

"Open," I tried, but nothing happened.

"Open." When he talked, it clicked. This time it opened when I tugged it.

"How do I know you aren't trying to poison me?"

Chuckling drily, he replied, "If I wanted you to die, I would just have to wait two days. You can't survive with your ankle like that." I guess that was the painful truth. I sighed.

"Why would you help me though?"

"I don't know," he simply said. Somehow, I trusted him. It might seem very foolish, but it was because he said that he didn't know that I trusted him. Cato wasn't giving excuses to cover up after himself. He was just being plainly honest, even if I don't understand why.

"Okay. Do I just drink it?"

"Yeah, but - " I was about to swallow it down, but he grabbed my wrists, stopping me. "I don't think we should do this now."

"I have nothing to lose though, right? If I die, I'm just dying a couple days early. It saves my family from having to see me get murdered, too."

"I know, but just give it a little longer. There could be side effects. You can try it tonight. Come to my room and find me."

"We have interviews later though. I need to be able to walk," I panicked.

"I'll sort it out." He saw the doubt in my eyes and added, "Trust me. Just survive until the interviews later. From then on, I will look after you."

"Thank you," I murmured for the first time.

"Don't worry about it. It's my fault that you got hurt in the first place."

"_Cato! Are you in here?_" a feminine voice interrupted.

"Crap. It's Clove," he hissed. Cato quickly scooped me up again in his arms and walked around the corner of his room to his private bathroom, and locked the door. We heard Clove enter the bedroom, and then leave a few seconds afterwards. "It's okay. She's gone."

"What am I supposed to do until tonight then? I still can't walk." Hesitantly, he placed me on a stool, and then began rummaging through one of the cabinets. He opened a tiny box from there, taking out two tablets, and poured a glass of water.

"Here." He passed them over to me, as I eyed the tablets sceptically. "They get rid of pain. Hopefully, they'll work for you. They only last a few hours though, so have them now." I nodded; if he wanted me dead, he could have just left me. I decided to trust him. Placing the tablets in my mouth, I washed them down with a gulp of water. As the minutes passed and I waited, I could feel the pain slowly ebbing away. It went from a dull pain into a complete numbness. "Do you want to try to walk?" he prompted.

"What if I fall?"

"Don't worry. I'll always be there catch you."

"Promise?" I asked.

"Promise."

"You better keep it. People who break promises are cowards."

"Cross my heart and hope to die," he winked, drawing a cross on his chest, and held up his little finger.

"What?" I laughed.

"I pinky promise."

"Pinky...promise?" I had no idea what he was going on about.

"Yeah," he said, lifting my hand up. He hooked his little finger around mine and repeated it again, "I pinky promise." It must have been some sort of thing made up by his district. Giggling at his silliness, I attempted to get up, but fell over. Cato caught me and pulled me back up.

"Told you. I'll always be there to catch you."

"Thanks. After all, you did 'pinky promise'," I scoffed. Afterwards, I was able to walk, but I had to pay very close attention to it.

"You better get back to your room. Have a bit of a practise walking before going to the interviews, and I'll meet you later." Thanking him, I headed for the door, but as I was leaving, he called my name. "Don't forget. I'll always be there to catch you. Or at least, if you fall, I'll fall with you." Watching my feet, I left, grinning the whole time.

I actually had a chance. I could survive this. I owed it all to the person who should be right at the top of my least trusted list. My rival:_ Cato._

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	7. Secretive Stage

**I don't own the Hunger Games.**

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_Cato's POV_

After being with Katniss, I had gone back to training, but my heart wasn't into it. She continued to linger in my thoughts, distracting me. Nobody mentioned anything so I hoped that they didn't notice. Later, I returned to my room to find a note on my bed. Next to it was a perfect, white rose. Perplexed, I read the note.

_I know your secret.  
Tell everybody or I will._

_Wait. What?_ I figured it must have just been a prank. I didn't have any secrets that anybody could figure out. Scrunching it into a ball, I chucked it into the bin with the rose, and didn't think much more of it.

As the day dragged on, I didn't see Katniss until we began getting ready for the interviews. All of the tributes were together, waiting for their turn to talk on stage. One by one we would go up, hoping to leave the best impression. Before I left for my go, I spotted Katniss. To reassure her that everything would be okay, I nodded in her direction, and she gave a subtle nod back. Nobody noticed, and so I walked up. It went quite smoothly. When my time was up, I still hung around, watching the other tributes. Since Katniss is in District Twelve, I had to wait ages for her interview.

Eventually, her name was called. I watched intensely as she shook hands with Caesar Flickerman.

"So, Katniss," he began. "The Capitol must be quite a change from District Twelve. What's impressed you most since you arrived here?" Worried, I noticed that her face was blank and she didn't reply. Did she not hear him? She looked into the audience for a moment and then answered the question.

"The lamb stew," she says. Caesar and the audience laughed, and then I found that I was laughing too. They continued talking for a while until I saw Caesar's expression change.

"Now, Katniss. When you came out in the opening ceremonies, my heart actually stopped. What did you think of that costume?"

"You mean after I got over my fear of being burned alive?" she asked. I grinned. She was building her confidence and the audience already loved her charmingly witty way of talking.

"Yes. Start then." She gazed into the audience as she spoke.

"I thought Cinna was brilliant and it was the most gorgeous costume I'd ever seen and I couldn't believe I was wearing it." Smiling, I remembered my first impression of her. Sure, the dress was pretty cool, but Katniss was the one that made it beautiful. Without her, it was nothing. Silently, I cursed myself for thinking that about my rival.

Out of nowhere, I felt something hit the back of my head. I turned around to find a crumpled piece of paper on the floor. I couldn't see anybody that would have a reason for doing that. Frowning, I picked it up and unfolded it. Inside were only a couple written words and a single, white petal. The paper said:

_Last chance._

I sighed. Whoever was trying to prank me needed to stop. It really wasn't funny. Shaking my head of my thoughts, I put my concentration back to the interview. She was standing up. Wait, what did I miss? The time wasn't up, was it? Why was she getting up?

Mesmerised, I gaped at her beauty. She began twirling with flames engulfing her. Katniss didn't look like she was in danger though. As she spun, the fire danced around with her. It was like she owned it and was controlling the fire to do her will. They were one. How was she able to do that with her bad ankle? It was meant to be numb, so she was supposed to barely be able to walk. I looked down and her heels turned with her. However, they were wobbling, and I could tell that she was about to fall. I seemed to guess correctly as she began gracefully landing in a pool of flames. Instinctively, I ran to her, barrelling past other people.

_I'm not going to make it to her in time..._ Forcing myself to use all of my speed and strength, I hauled myself towards Katniss.

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_Katniss's POV_

I twirled and twirled, sensing the flickering flames revolve around me. As a loss of balance and dizziness overtook me, I remembered my injury. It was still far too numb, and as I attempted to regain my composure, I realised it was too late. I was falling. _You know what? Forget it!_ I was tired of worrying about everything in life. I could just let myself fall and let it all be over with. I couldn't be bothered anymore.

Not only was my foot numb, but my whole body felt like it too. I became detached from the world and felt nothing, but coldness. I allowed myself to drop; giving up was much easier than always trying so hard. Expecting my face to smack dead into the floor, I found myself shocked instead.

Warmness enveloped me. Something firm. I suddenly felt very protected and alive again. I didn't collapse; I was safe. But how? Why? Was it my Guardian Angel come to save me? Or was it an Angel of Death, ready to take me to the next life. Whatever it was, I was ready for it. When I managed to find the face of my saviour, I saw that he was indeed an angel. The angel and I both lay together on the floor, side by side, his arms around me, and my face hidden in his chest.

Reluctantly, I inched backwards a little to understand who he was and what was going on. The prepossessing eyes of Cato bore into mine. How could such icy blue eyes be so tenderly warm and affectionate? They were filled with frosty fondness.

"What..." I struggled to speak.

Chuckling, he replied, "Did you forget already?"

"I don't under-"

"I told you I would always be there to catch you." In response, I laughed. He didn't exactly manage to catch me. He then added, "Or at least, if you fall, I'll fall with you." Slowly understanding what he was saying, a loud cough made us both jump a little. We both looked up to see Caesar giving us very strange looks. Sucking in a sharp breath of air, I gawped at the audience. They were all so silent, without making any noise.

Only then did I remember that we were still on stage. Oh my God. _Oh my God. _How could this have been happening? Cato and I both sat up, just as confused as everybody else. As if things couldn't get any worse, what happened next nearly killed me.

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	8. Troublesome Tributes

**I do not own the Hunger Games.**

* * *

_Katniss's POV_

Noise. So much noise. The whole audience had burst into tumultuous cheers; it was chaos. Cato and I glanced at each other, unsure of what to do.

"Silence, please!" Caesar shouted, but with no effect. "Silence! _Silence!_" Eventually, the crowd quietened down to small murmurs and whispers. Cato stood up, but I was in too much shock to move. He took my hand, pulling me up with him. Caesar seemed to be at a loss of words as much as us, and he usually always knew what to say. The crowd were inaudible, yet their tranquillity was deafening. Hesitantly, Caesar tried to talk. "Katni-"

Instantly, he was cut off by the buzzer that signalled the end of the interview. Cato began walking off stage, until he noticed that I was still glued to my spot. He walked back over to me. "Come on Katniss," he whispered. Tugging my hand, he added, "We have to go," but I couldn't move. Everybody around us observed us, their eyes watching our every move. "It's okay, come on." What was I going to do? I'd ruined everything. I shouldn't have moved like that when I knew that I had a bad ankle. Now I'd messed things up for both of us. If I wasn't going to win the games, I had wanted Cato to, since he gave me a chance. This could effect _his _chances drastically. It was all my fault.

He scooped me into his arms, the same way he did on the roof. Hiding my face in his chest, I tried to get images out of my mind. Although my eyes were blocked, I could still see in my mind the judgmental stares from the audience. Not only them, but everybody would be seeing what just happened live on TV. All of Panem. All of my potential sponsors. Everybody in the districts. My family. Gale. Prim.

Cato carried me effortlessly away, and I could hear the silence from the stage once again becoming a complete pandemonium. We kept going until the noise steadily left. Once it was quiet again, Cato put me down. We were in one of the corridors on our floor. "I... I'm sorry," I murmured towards the ground, without looking up.

"What? You have nothing to be sorry for. It's my fault for the way I handled it."

"But I - "

"No," he interrupted. "Don't worry about it. There's no use fretting over what can't be changed."

After a moment, I finally looked up at him and said, "Thank you." He nodded and took my hand.

"Come on. We can continue to watch the interview from my room." When we got there, Cato turned on the TV and rewound it by 5 minutes. It began showing me twirling on stage, and then soon came to Cato catching me and us falling on the floor. It all continued on exactly the same as it had occurred in my memory. I looked just as stupid there as I felt during it. _This is a nightmare. _As much as I wished for it all to stop, the TV continued on. I cringed when it showed Cato lift me up, carrying me off stage. By the angles that it was filmed, it looked like I was cuddling against him, when really I was trying to hide from the audience.

After we had left the stage, the screen showed the audience going into an uproar, just as I had thought. A lot of people were yelling for us to come back up again. Caesar took about a minute to calm them all down again.

"Yes, yes. That really was quite interesting. However, we still have one more tribute to interview. Maybe we could have an added private interview for Katniss and Cato if President Snow will allow it." Cheers of agreement pierced through the speakers. Caesar continued, "For now, let us welcome our male tribute from District Twelve: Peeta Mellark!" Peeta walked on and shook Caesar's hand. The crowd shouted at him, asking about what had happened with Cato and I. "Do you have any idea what that was about?" Caesar questioned him.

"None at all. I haven't even seen those two talking before," he replied smoothly. _Good, good._ This put less of people's attention on me and made it seem more coincidental. Their conversation topic changed and soon they were just babbling on in the normal interview way. Getting bored, Cato selected the 'fast-forward' button on the remote, until it was live again.

"Tell me," Caesar says curiously, "do you have a girlfriend back home?" After a doubtful moment of hesitance, Peeta shook his head. Catching on, Caesar laughed. "Handsome lad like you. There must be some special girl." Peeta didn't reply. "Come on, what's her name?"

"Well," Peeta sighed, "there is this one girl. I've had a crush on her ever since I can remember. But I'm pretty sure she didn't know I was alive until the reaping." The crowd made little sympathetic sighs. _This is brilliant! _Thanks to Peeta, everybody would have definitely stopped thinking about what happened with Cato earlier. He was distracting them so well, making them all think of their own failed loves.

"She have another fellow?"

He replied, "I don't know, but a lot of boys like her."

"So here's what you do," Caesar began. "You win, you go home. She can't turn you down then, eh?" Woops escaped the crowd encouragingly.

"I don't think it's going to work out. Winning..." he trailed off, "won't help in my case."

"Why ever not?" I was just as confused as Caesar and everybody else around. To be honest, I kind of wanted to know who it was, and I was thankful that people were focused on him only now. Blushing, he began to stutter.

"Because... because... she came here with me."

Wait... what? Did he just... what? _What? _Shocked, I gaped at the screen, unable to fully comprehend what he was saying. I couldn't quite mentally grasp the idea. _Me. _He meant _me! _Whilst what he said sunk in for everybody else, the camera focused on his face. A few people made pitying noises, disgusted that he would have to either kill or be killed by me. Others screamed in distress and heartache.

With a legit voice of agony, Caesar said, "Oh, that is a piece of bad luck."

"It's not good," Peeta strained to say, agreeing with him.

"Well, I don't think any of us can blame you. It'd be hard not to fall for that young lady." Murmurs of agreement droned from the audience. At first I had begun to believe him, but then I knew better. Obviously, he was doing this to get rid of me as competition. He had just made me look even worse than before. Standing up, I gave the screen a dirty look. Caesar asked, "She didn't know?"

"Not until now." Enraged, I began backing away and ran out the door.

"Katniss! _Katniss!_" Cato called after me. However, it was too late. I was already gone.

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	9. Enlightening Encounters

**I do not own the Hunger Games.**

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_Cato's POV_

Was Peeta insane? For him to announce feelings for Katniss to the public, only moments after what had just happened between us, was a colossal risk. I didn't even know what to say. I guess we would just have to wait it out. Maybe this could be good for her; it might attract sponsors. However, it seemed Katniss had a different view on this. Despite my desperate calls of her name, she was up and out of the door in a moment. Ignoring me, she continued to sprint down the corridor, her rage clearly strong, with her fury emanating off of her. I realised she was going into the direction of the interviews again.

Although she had a good head start, I was catching up. I had realised by now that she was actually quite strong and was able to run very well because of her strength. Nevertheless, she was no match for my speed, especially since her ankle was numb and she was wearing heels. As Katniss made a turn around a corner, I cussed. I hated not being able to see where she was going.

When I came around the corner, I arrived to find Katniss shoving Peeta into an urn, tipping it over, and making it shatter into lots of perilous serrated pieces. Peeta's hands began to bleed straight away, staining the clean, Capitol floor.

"What was that for?" he asked, astounded. Katniss stepped towards him again, so I held her from behind, pinning her arms behind her. Despite my firm grip, she kept on struggling and talked as if I weren't there.

"You had no right! No right to go saying those things about me!" she screeched, shaking in my hold.

"Katniss, don't worry about it," I murmured into her ear, "it will all be fine."

"No! He had no right, Cato. He can't just say things like that!" she struggled more. Surprised, District Twelve's team all came off the elevator, running over to us in concern.

"What's going on? Did you fall?" Effie questioned in a frenzy, helping Peeta up with Cinna.

"After she shoved me."

"Shoved him?" Haymitch turned towards Katniss and I, with the rest of the team looking at us too. Only now were they acknowledging that I was there.

"This was your idea, wasn't it?" Katniss accused her mentor, no longer moving from my hold, but just accepting it. "Turning me into some kind of fool in front of the entire country?"

Pulling hazardous shards of the urn out of his palms, Peeta replied with "It was my idea. Haymitch just helped me with it."

"Yes, Haymitch is very helpful. To you!"

"Katniss," I hiss at her, for only her sensitive ears to hear. "Calm down."

"You _are _a fool. Do you think he hurt you? That boy gave you something you could never achieve on your own." Haymitch saying that made me just realise what this was about. It was all an act. They were going to do it for sponsors. A love story... It was genius!

"He made me look weak!" Katniss shouted, still oblivious.

"No, Katniss. He made you look desirable," I said. "Now that Peeta wants you, they'll all want you and only be talking about you and thinking of only _you_. You'll be all that they talk about, as the star-crossed lovers from District Twelve." Everybody stared at me, mouths gaping open.

"But we're not star-crossed lovers!" she still stubbornly shouted, the only one not finding it strange that I was there. Sighing, I realised that I was going to need to use a more forceful approach. I turned her around, grabbing her shoulders and pinned her against the wall.

"Who cares? It's all a big show," I spoke, my eyes daring her to defy me.

"Oh my!" Effie gasped, getting ready to call for help.

"It's okay," Haymitch grasped her shoulder.

"It's all how you're perceived," I continued. "The most I could say about you after your interview was that you were nice enough, although that in itself was a small miracle. Now I can say you're a heartbreaker. Two boys in one day! Oh, oh, oh, how the boys back home fall longingly at your feet. Which do you think will get you more sponsors?"

"Little git stole what I was going to say," Haymitch muttered. Cinna walked over to us, and lightly removed my hold of her. I stepped back. Gingerly, he put his arm around her.

"He's right, Katniss." All of her team were so caring for her. They weren't faking it. They actually were concerned for her safety... Even her drunk mentor wanted to look after her. He just had a different way of showing it.

"I should have been told, so I didn't look so stupid."

"No, your reaction was perfect. If you'd known, it wouldn't have read as real," Portia said.

Chucking another sharp and bloody piece away, Peeta said, "She's just worried about her boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" I turned towards Katniss.

Blushing furiously, she replied, "I don't have a boyfriend."

"Whatever," Peeta muttered. Did he have a death wish? Even I knew not to mess with Katniss like that. "But I bet he's smart enough to know a bluff when he sees it. Besides, _you _didn't say you loved _me_. So what does it matter?" Giving him a deadly glare, she takes a few more steps away from, calming down a little.

"So, Cato..." Haymitch started awkwardly. "What exactly is your involvement with Katniss?" When I looked at her, she seemed scared that they would find out about everything that has happened between us.

Putting on my best lying smile, I replied with a simple, "Nothing at all."

"Well why did you go to her on stage?" I wasn't quite sure how to answer this one. I couldn't be honest.

"I was just nearby and saw her falling. I would've run up for anybody."

"You didn't need to take her off though, did you? Where have you guys even been until now?" As I struggled for an answer, Katniss chipped in.

"I was scared and didn't know what to do. He just did me a favour by helping me off." There was a long silence, where everybody attempted to make sense of the situation.

"Oh, this is so exciting!" Effie shrieked. "A love square!"

"What?" Cinna asked, heads turning towards her.

"A love square, you sillies! There's Katniss, Peeta, Cato and Gale. That makes a love square," she beamed.

"Who's Gale?" I frowned.

"Her boyfriend," Peeta added gruffly.

"He's not my boyfriend!" she shouted again. "He's... family. My cousin." I could tell she was lying, but she didn't owe me any explanation. I didn't want to show my jealousy.

"Right, well," I began walking away. "Good luck with your star-crossed lover stuff and all. See you tomorrow in training!" Katniss knew that I would really be seeing her tonight. Before anybody could say anything else, I quickly went to my district's rooms.

As I walked in, my mentor Brutus, shoved me into the wall.

"What the hell?" I rubbed my head, where it got hit from Brutus's surprise attack.

"I should be the one saying that. What was with your little performance?" he spat.

"She fell over and I helped her up. That's all."

"Not by what the rest of Panem think. They all believe that there's some sort of love triangle going on between you two and that lover boy."

"So?" I asked. "I don't care. They can say whatever they want to say."

"Oh come _on," _Brutus begged. "_Please_ tell me you're not falling for that District Twelve dirt?"

"Of course not," I scowled, pretending otherwise. "She's scum. I'm just trying to confuse her for when the Games start." This seemed to please Brutus.

"Ah, good lad. I guess you are smart," he grinned, patting my back. "Just don't go overboard, okay? It could affect your sponsors."

"Sure," I agreed vaguely.

"I'll go and tell the others not to worry." When he left, I let out a sigh of relief.

I sure was going through a lot of effort for this girl, but it would all be worth it. I owed it to her.

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	10. Tense Teams

**I do not own the Hunger Games.**

* * *

_Katniss's POV_

After Cato left, nobody dared to say anything. How could he just leave me here?_ It was so awkward! _Envious of how effortlessly Cato managed to escape this uncomfortable situation, I attempted to do the same. As I casually walked out, Haymitch finally spoke up.

"Where are you going?"

"My room." I said.

"Okay, I'll come with you." In silence, we went to our floor. Walking past the dining room, I tried to sneak into my room without having to say anything, but I got interrupted.

"Wait," he stopped me. "Sit down." Sighing, I sat on one of the chairs. "What was all of that about then?"

"What was what about?"

"Don't act stupid," he said informally, sitting down next to me.

"I don't know what you mean."

"With Cato on the stage." He pulled out a flask from his pocket, taking a huge gulp.

"I told you - " He slammed it down on the table, stopping me midsentence.

"Cut the crap, sweetheart. Tell me. What actually happened?" I considered telling him about everything, including my ankle and the roof.

"Well..." Maybe he could help? He could find a cure? _No!_ He wouldn't be able to. I was deluding myself by thinking he could fix my problems. I couldn't let myself get misled by this. "Nothing," I replied. Agitated, Haymitch made a sound like a cross between a grunt and a groan.

"Oh come _on._ You're making this way too hard for me. I told you to stay away from him."

"But I am."

"Then why did he catch you on the stage? He's your enemy!"

"No he's not!"

"_What?" _Haymitch hissed. Did I actually just say that out loud? Oh God.

"I... I meant..."

"What exactly did you mean?"

"He's not," I hesitated, "a bad person."

_"What?" _he repeated.

"All he's done is help me out. He hasn't done anything wrong." I don't know why I felt the need to protect him, but after everything that he had done for me, it was only fair that I do the same.

"She's delusional," he muttered to himself. "Don't you realise that in two nights you have to _kill _him? He's fooling you!"

"Okay," I said. "Okay, okay. Just leave me alone." Before he could say anything else, I ran off into my room, slamming the door shut. I probably sounded very childish, but I didn't know how to act. The smallest mistake could cost me my life and I was so tired of constantly worrying about it.

Clenching my eyes shut tight, I snuggled under the blanket in my bed, covering my entire body and face. It was still early, but there was something strangely comforting about beds. Within a few minutes, exhaustion empowered me. Swiftly, I lulled into a soft sleep.

* * *

"Wake up! Up, up, up! Deary me. You're wasting your time when you could be doing so much better, you know."

"Go away Effie," I mumbled.

"Now that's no way for a young lady to speak!" Grunting in response, I rolled over in my bed. "Look, I just wanted to tell you that we were having dinner, and to invite you to come and join us." I didn't want to leave the safety of the bed, but my appetite argued against this. Forcing myself up, I joined Effie to go to the dining room, as she talked about God knows what. "And so that's why I'm thinking of dying my skin blue," she babbled.

"Uh huh," I said, walking ahead.

"Mornin', sleeping beauty," Haymitch greeted. Ignoring him, I went to sit down. "Nope, I have other plans for you right now." He blocked my seat.

"But Effie just said - "

"Never mind what she said. Come on." With me complaining about my hunger the whole way, he dragged me down a few corridors. The next thing I knew, I was walking into District Two's area of the floor.

"Haymitch," I halted. "We can't go in there."

"Of course we can." He walked straight in.

"Haymitch... _Haymitch!_" I followed.

"Hey Haymitch," a friendly voice addressed. A burly man came towards us. "Did you bring her?"

"Yep, she's right here," Haymitch replied, pulling me closer to him. "Katniss, this is Brutus. He's Cato's mentor."

"Hello," he smiled.

I murmured, "Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine." He seemed nice, but obviously he was just pretending. Why did Haymitch even bring me here? "Come in," he said. "Let's waste no more time." Wordlessly, I followed them into the familiar room that I'd passed, back when Cato had taken me to his room, and sat down. I looked across the corridor; he was probably right there in his room.

Casually, the two mentors talked and joked around, as if I wasn't there. Whilst they laughed and conversed, I kept glancing down the corridor. Where was he? Where was everybody else?

"You two seem pretty chummy for two districts that are supposed to hate each other," a cold voice commented.

"Ah, Cato, you're finally here," Brutus said, signalling towards the seats for him to sit. Reluctantly, he joined us.

"Why _are _we here?" I asked.

"Well..." Brutus began.

"Due to recent events, we believe that you both may have had your chances of surviving messed up a little," Haymitch continued.

"So we came up with a plan of attempting to cover everything up and make things normal again," Brutus finished. Cato scoffed.

"I thought you hated District Twelve, Brutus."

"To be honest, I don't like or dislike the district. However, I've got to keep up appearances, right?"

"Plus," Haymitch added, "Brutus and I have actually been good friends for quite a few years now." Well, that was something I didn't know about.

"What's the plan, then?" Cato questioned.

"To be honest, the majority of Panem have reacted very wildly towards what happened on that stage," Brutus said. Blushing, I gazed downwards a little. "A lot of them want for you both to go for another interview, to explain why Cato was the one to automatically run up and catch you."

"So...?" Cato enquired.

"_So, _we think that you two should do another interview tomorrow to explain things," Haymitch said. Another interview? I wasn't sure if I would be able to go up again in front of all of those people, but I didn't really have much of a choice.

Despite my doubts, I nodded slowly. "What will we say?"

"The best option may be to act in a hateful manner towards each other," Brutus said. "Make everybody believe that you strongly despise each other. Remind them that you're enemies."

We all agreed on what was going to happen on stage. Eventually, our two mentors left to allow Cato and I to discuss any other little details with what would happen tomorrow during the interview - or at least that's what they thought we would talk about.

"Where are we meeting?" I asked quietly.

"Your room. Mine has too much risk."

"Do you know the way to get there?"

"Of course," he scoffed. "It's just around a few corners."

"Time?"

"Well, we don't want anybody to see us, so maybe at about midnight?"

"Are you sure that'll be alright?"

He nodded, "I'll be discreet about it. Nobody will see me."

"Okay," I replied. For a moment, neither of us moved or said anything. Surprising him, I leaned up on my toes, and pulled him into a hug. "Thank you." He seemed paralyzed at first, but then he wrapped his arms around me too.

"Don't worry. I'll protect you."

* * *

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	11. Nervous Night

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* * *

_Cato's POV_

Probably due to nervousness, time dragged on for the rest of the day. Ten minutes felt like an hour. I had to keep acting normal. Every time Katniss and I passed each other in corridors, we ignored each other. We couldn't afford to create any suspicion. Eventually though, night came upon us. Sitting on my bed, I waited for midnight to arrive. It was only ten though. Two more hours to go. Already, I was exhausted. I guessed that a little rest couldn't do any harm. Laying down, I closed my eyes. Just a quick nap would have been nice...

When I woke, I was feeling a bit more refreshed. Yawning, I glanced at the clock on my wall for the time. 12:54. _Shit. _Oh shit! I was nearly an hour late. We were supposed to meet at twilight - no, not that Twilight! Jumping up, I leaped out of the door. As I passed Clove's room, she simply had to pop out.

"Hey, what are you doing? It's late." She rubbed her eyes.

"Just, umm..." _Think, Cato. Think! _"Going for a walk."

"A walk?" she repeated, raising an eyebrow. She didn't sound convinced. "Why?"

"I guess I just need some fresh air."

"Okay. Want me to come with?"

"No, no," I rushed out. "I want to be on my own. You know, have a little think about things."

"Oh, alright then. Don't stay out too long. Night."

"I won't!" I lied, already on my way out of the door. As soon as I was out of sight, I began sprinting. Katniss was going to be so angry! Hurrying around the corner, I accidentally bumped into someone.

"Ouch."

"I'm sorry! Sorry, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fi - Cato!" the person shouted. "Where have you been?"

"Ahh, I'm sorry!" I gasped, helping up Katniss, when I realised it was her. "I just kind of lost track of time and - "

"It's fine," she hushed me. "Have you got it?"

"Huh?"

"The potion. Have you got it?" she asked, getting nervous.

"Yeah." I put my hand on my neck to quickly check that it was still there.

"Okay, let's get out of here before somebody sees us." I'm not sure if she realised, but she grabbed my hand, whilst we raced towards her room. When we entered, she peeked inside to make sure that nobody was around. With the coast clear, we silently slipped into her room. In relief, she sat on her bed.

"Umm..."

"Oh, sorry," she released my hand. "What happened to make you so late?"

"I kind of fell asleep," I muttered. "I really do apologise."

"It's alright." She shrugged. "What's important is that you're here now. I appreciate it." I nod, sitting down next to her. "So, how are we going to do this?"

"Are you sure you want to?" I had no idea how the potion could effect her. It hasn't been tested.

"Definitely." She sounded so certain.

"Okay." Sighing, I removed my necklace, and said, "Open." It did so, with a satisfying _click._ I handed it over to her. Suspiciously, Katniss eyed the potion, bringing it close to her face.

"How much should I drink? Like, should it be a drop or what?"

"I guess all of it. I have no idea," I shrugged.

"How does it taste?" she asked.

"No idea," I repeated.

"Will it hurt?"

"No. Idea."

"Alright, I guess I'll just go for it." As she raised it to her mouth, I stopped her.

"Wait."

"Hmm?"

"Maybe it would be easier if you mixed it with a drink?" I suggested. "Then, you probably wouldn't be able to notice it."

"Alright, let me see what we've got." Together, we headed to District Twelve's dining area. Usually, their team would be in there, but for now, it was empty. Walking over to a large trolley, I found a large supply of various alcohol. They were stacked over each other in shelves.

"Damn..." I whispered, the bottles pulling me closer. "Why's there so much?"

"Haymitch," Katniss laughed drily. "He has an unhealthy addiction."

"Well, he wouldn't mind if I were to take one, would he?" I asked eagerly.

"Help yourself," she scoffed. "He wouldn't even notice if you took the whole trolley."

"Don't mind if I do." Grinning, I did exactly as she said, and began wheeling the trolley back into her room. Hey eyes widened.

"You're really taking it all?"

"Well, I would share with you." Stifling a giggle, she nodded, and we entered her room. We sat back on her bed. "Oh, I forgot cups." As I was about to get up to get some, she grabbed my wrist.

"It doesn't matter, does it?" She surprised me by pulling off the lid of a bottle, and taking a sip. She was still holding my wrist with her other hand. She pulled me down next to her and offered me the bottle. Chuckling, I took a swig.

"Are you ready to do it?" I indicated towards the potion. Awkwardly, she looked down.

"I don't think I can."

"Why not?" She was so determined earlier.

"I'm kind of scared."

Frowning, I asked, "Why only now?"

"_No idea,_" she said, mocking the way I'd said it earlier. I rolled my eyes at her. "I really don't know," she added. "I guess I just need a courage boost or something."

"Nothing a little drink can't help with?" I nudged a bottle towards her. She smiled appreciatively.

"Hey, Cato..." she trailed, nervous at first.

"Yeah?" She looked up and met my gaze straight on, biting her lip in anticipation.

"Want to play a game?"

* * *

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	12. Dangerous Dares

**I do not own the Hunger Games**

* * *

_Katniss' POV_

"A game?"

"Mhm."

"What sort of game?" he asked hesitantly.

"A drinking game." I wasn't sure why I was saying this. I guess I just needed a distraction from reality right now.

"Okay..." he went along with it. "Which one?"

I furrow my eyebrows. "I don't know any..."

"Then why'd you ask?" he chuckled.

"Well, I heard that your district is pretty wild with parties and such. Don't you know any?"

"Plenty," he grinned.

"Okay then. Pick one and we'll play."

"We could base it on truth or dare?" He paused, and I waited for him to explain it. He carried on. "If one of us don't want to answer a truth or do a dare, then we take a drink."

"Alright. Seems fun." Cato reached for one of the bottles, and opened it. He held his necklace and poured the potion in. "Why're you putting it in a whole bottle?" I questioned.

"You probably won't be able to taste it, since it's mixed into the drink. Plus, we can share." Share? I thought that he didn't know if it even worked? It would probably kill him. Before I knew it, he lifted the bottle and took a sip.

"Cato!" I snatched it from him.

"Yeah?"

"Why're you drinking it too?"

"I can't just risk letting you drink it."

"But it could harm you!"

"If something were to happen to you, I don't want to be forced to live with the guilt." How was he saying this so casually? It almost sounded like a confession of love. However, I guess I did understand what he meant, and it did actually make me feel a bit better. I replied with a sip from the same bottle, to show my acceptance.

"Well, if I die, at least you'll be accompanying me to heaven," I smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

"Oh please. By the time the Hunger Games are over, we would have both sinned far too many times to have the right to go there."

"Let's hope hell isn't too bad then, eh?" I said.

"As long as we're together, I'm sure we can handle it."

"Ooo, I hope they have lamb stew," I daydreamed.

"The one with the plums?"

"Yeah."

"Ahh, they really are good," he agreed. "We have similar food back in my district."

"Really? I wish I could've tried it." Just thinking about the types of food made my mouth water.

"Maybe one day, you could visit and - " He froze. We were so into the conversation that we'd both forgotten the reason why we had met in the first place. Only one of us were going to be able to go home. The other was going to be killed. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"It's okay," I beamed up at him. "Now c'mon. Let's play!"

"Truth or dare?" He had a devilish tone. Since I was young, I've never been very good at talking about myself. That meant that picking truth was definitely not an option for me.

"Dare!"

"Kiss me."

"What?" I coughed. Did I just hear him correctly?

"I dare you," he exaggerated the words. "To kiss... Me."

"As if," I laugh. He seemed to have already been expecting that answer, as he instantly gestured towards the alcohol. Rolling my eyes, I drank a decent amount. I'd never had that much to drink before, so it was quite an alien experience.

"Truth or dare?" I asked.

"Truth."

"Do you want to have kids?" I don't know why I asked. I guess that I was just interested. Frowning, he took the bottle from me, and drank, without saying anything. "You won't answer?"

"I don't like the question," he shrugged. That was strange. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to kiss me."

"You can't dare me to do that again!" I shouted.

"Yes I can," he laughed. "We made no rules against it." Irritated, I took another drink.

"Dare," he said, before I had a chance to even ask. I had a feeling he would be avoiding the truths too now.

Squinting, I stated, "I dare you to answer my truth question."

"It doesn't work like that," he argued.

"We made no rules against it'," I quoted him.

"Touché." He drank again.

Sighing, I complained, "We're not getting anywhere with this game. Neither of us are afraid of a drink."

"What if we make it more interesting?"

"How so?" I wondered what he had in mind.

"As well as having to take a drink, you also have to remove a piece of clothing." He waited a few seconds for that to sink into my brain.

"No way," I scoffed.

"Too scared?" he continued, with a Cheshire cat's smile.

"Fine. We'll see who wins." I couldn't believe I'd accepted. Stupid peer pressure. I was acting completely out of character, and I knew it. The fear must've really been getting to me.

"Let the games begin, then."

I sneered, "May the odds be ever in your favour."

* * *

The game continued on for quite a while. Now, Cato sat on the bed, with only his underwear and two socks on. I still had my shirt and undergarments. I'm ashamed to admit it, but we were pretty drunk and tipsy. As a result, we'd both gained a lot of courage and weren't so reluctant to complete the tasks. We weren't even asking 'truth or dare' anymore. It was more just ask and dare without an option.

"What's the longest you've ever been with a girl?" I drawled. In response, he peeled off a sock. "What? Why won't you answer?"

"What about you, hmm? What's the longest you've ever been with a guy?"

I shrugged, saying, "I've never dated." His eyes widened.

"But during Peeta's interview, he mentioned that all of the boys back in your district chase after you."

"Doesn't mean I've dated any of them. Now c'mon. Tell me. What's your longest?"

"Nope. Not telling."

"Why not?"

"I'll tell you if..." I looked at him expectantly, waiting for the request. "If you remove one more piece of clothing." I only had my shirt and undergarments, but this didn't cause my determination to waver.

"Deal!" I grinned, shocking him. "I'll do it after you answer my question."

Sighing, he said, "Same here."

"Huh?"

"I've never dated." No. That couldn't have been right.

"Surely you've been with a girl."

"Only physically."

"So you've had sex," I laughed, "But you haven't dated."

"Basically," he slurred. This sent me into a fit of giggles.

"Now I believe that you're supposed to strip," he winked. Even in a drunken state, he still managed to be flirtatious.

"Hmm," I wondered out loud. "Should I remove my knickers, which will end up revealing my lower body... Or should I remove my shirt, revealing my upper body..." Cato watched on in interest. "Oh, decisions, decisions!"

"Stop teasing, before I take them off for you," he growled.

"M'kay!" I replied. Slowly, I reached behind for my bra and removed it, without taking off my shirt.

"What?" he asked in disappointment.

"I removed a piece of clothing, right?" I smiled evilly.

"That's cruel," he pouted.

"Life's cruel." I stuck my tongue out at him in response. "Anyways, I dare you..." I began thinking about it, but I yawned. "Never mind, we've played for long enough."

"But we're so close to finishing!"

"I'm tired," I yawned.

"It's only 3:24am."

"Exactly! That's late."

"Okay, okay. Just finish the dare at least. And then, you may leave."

"Fine," I gave in. "I dare you to..." I leaned close to his face, until we were a few inches apart.

"You dare me to...?"

"Kiss me."

* * *

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	13. Sinful Start

**I do not own the Hunger Games.**

* * *

_Cato's POV_

"You don't need to ask me twice." Leaning in, I cupped her cheek, and our lips locked. Soft. Her lips were so soft.

Innocent. Pure.

I knew that it was ever so wrong, but I wanted her for my own. This angel. It was a sweet kiss - slow, and a bit sloppy, as a result of our drunken states. That didn't stop me from feeling alive though. Never had I felt more alive. I guess that was lucky, since in two days, I might not even be alive anymore.

However, this girl… This amazing girl! I wanted to protect her. I couldn't allow her to die. I may have been acting foolish - Stop right there. I _was _acting foolish. No doubt about it. But could I even have been willing to trade my life for the safety of hers? Maybe... Maybe I would...

_No!_ I was being ridiculous. I'd never go that far. I am Cato. I am ruthless. I am violent. I am brutal. I am barbaric! Above all, I only care about myself. That's right. That was me. Selfish. Self absorbed. Sadistic.

On the other hand, I couldn't deny that I was going to miss being with Katniss. Sure, I liked her, but I had a duty to win these Hunger Games. I was going to be the Victor of the 74th year.

On the other hand, for now, it wouldn't do any harm for us to be together now. At least, as long as nobody knows, it would be fine. We were so in sync with one another, our lips moving to match each other's. Although we appeared to be complex puzzle pieces that fit together, we were both so opposite. She was simply an angel. I guess that made me a devil.

If somebody found out about what we were doing right now, we would both be in deep trouble. I broke apart from her. She tried to reclaim my lips, but I turned away. Katniss looked at me as if I'd just slapped her in the face. I didn't want it to seem like I was rejecting her. I wanted her. God, I wanted her! It wasn't fair for her though. I shouldn't ruin her chances. She had a family that she loved and cared about back home.

"Sorry," I murmured.

"No," she shook her head. "It was me. I'm sorry."

"It's just… I don't know what we're doing right now."

Smiling, she asked, "Do we really need to think about it? I mean, one of us will die soon. Most likely me. I want to enjoy myself before I'm gone." I could see the sadness and desperation in her eyes. They actually looked quite bloodshot now. She must've been tired. I pulled her into a hug.

"I think I'll go back now," I decided, with her still in my arms.

"No!" she clutched onto my shoulders. "Please don't leave."

"But I -"

"Please…" she whispered. I couldn't say no. I just couldn't.

"I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. You can go to sleep now."

"You'll stay?"

"Mhm, I'll stay," I promised.

"Okay," she crawled onto her bed, and patted the space next to her for us to lie down.

"No blanket?" I asked.

"Too hot," she complained. I guess it was pretty humid. I pulled my shirt off, with my remaining sock, and climbed on next to her. Watching, she began to pull her top off too.

"What're you doing?" I hissed.

"I'm hot…" she moaned. Damn right she was.

"Well you can't just strip."

"But you did!"

"You're not wearing a bra," I argued.

"Neither are you." She stuck her tongue out. I quite liked this drunk Katniss. She was childish now, unlike how she usually had such a serious face in front of others. The only issue was that I wasn't sure how to deal with her now.

"I don't need a bra. I'm a man," I countered.

"Nuh – uh!" she disagreed, shaking her head wildly.

"Yuh – huh!"

"Nuh – uh!" she repeated. "You have boobs." Her own comment made her smile.

I pouted in mock hurt. "No I don't. As I said, I'm a man."

"Yes you do. You have boo – oh!" she froze, mouth wide, looking into space. Then, a large grin crept onto her face. "You have moobs!" she declared.

"What?"

"Moobs!" she giggled. "Man boobs."

Sighing in defeat, I replied, "Okay, Katniss. I have moobs." I rolled my eyes at her term. How strange. I wondered if this was some sort of saying that was made up at her district.

"I told you so!"

"Well, my 'moobs' are lovely, so ha."

She frowned, staring at my chest, and said, "No they're not."

"Want a feel?" I joked, bringing my body closer to her.

"Don't mind if I do." To my surprise, she leaped up and placed her petite hands on my chest. They were steaming hot. One of them pressed against my thumping heart, warming it up. "Not bad actually." She smirked, adding, "I guess you really don't have moobs."

"I told you so," I laughed. "Guess what."

"What?"

"You're drunk," I smiled.

"Am not! You are!" she argued. That made me wonder if I was. I might've been a little. Sure, I drank quite a lot, but I was a strong drinker. At most, I was probably a bit out of it and tipsy.

I still knew enough to realise that being with Katniss was not allowed. In fact, it was wrong. Completely, and utterly wrong. Yet, it was so… So…

_Right!_

Did that make any sense to you? No? Don't worry. It confused me too.

"Whatever. Goodnight!" she sang, lying on her belly. I laid next to her on my back. About twenty seconds passed, until she whispered, "Psst, Cato. Let's play another game."

"No," I said harshly. "Go to sleep."

"But it's too bright!"

"Fine, I'll turn the light off." As I rolled to my side to get up, she grabbed my arm.

"No, don't."

"Why not?"

"I'm scared of the dark," she murmured sheepishly.

"Well, I can't sleep with it being too bright either," I moaned. "Can't you put up with the dark for one night?"

"No."

"Not even if -"

"No."

"Isn't there any way?" I was getting desperate for my sleep now.

"Well…" she trailed off, nervously biting her lip. "There is one way, but it – No. Nevermind." She refused to continue.

"Come on. Say it," I begged until she agreed to tell me, which didn't take very long.

"Ugh, fine. I'm alright in the dark… If somebody holds me." Was that all? She really was silly sometimes. I stood up, turned the light off, and returned to the bed.

"Cato… Cato!" she searched for me frantically. "I told you that I can't sleep like this. I'm scared." She found me lying back next to her on the bed, and held my arm frantically.

"I know." As she was about to further complain, I pulled her close against my body and murmured, "Are you okay now?" Getting over the initial shock, her body quickly relaxed.

"Perfect," she whispered, burying her face into my chest. Exhausted, I draped an arm over her.

I couldn't let anything happen to her right now. I'd fallen too deep. There were no words to describe her. She wasn't like the other girls from back home. For now, I would protect her. She was just so special, or in her words, perfect.

However, when it came to it, I was going to have to kill her. I wanted her to at least live a little longer though. To be able to enjoy life as much as possible now. When it came to killing her, I would do it in the least painful way possible.

I think I'd made a friend. She was my friend… Right? This is how buddies act. We were being friendly with each other – helping each other out. That's right. We were only pals, who looked out for each other. Nothing more.

"Hey, Cato…" she mumbled, sleepily.

"Mm?"

"I just wanted you to know that," she yawned, "what you said to me before applies to you too."

"And what was it that I said?" She'd gotten my attention now. I was interested.

"You said 'I'll always be there to catch you'," Her eyes began to droop shut. "Or at least," she added dreamily, "if you fall…"

"I'll fall with you," I completed her sentence, since she'd already slipped into a deep slumber. Hopefully, neither of us were going to fall for quite a while now.

Tomorrow we were going to have to redo our interview. I was dreading it already. Time was our biggest enemy, and we were running out of it. If only we had some more. Time was much more precious right now than my most prized possessions.

Things could have been perfect. We could have been perfect. And then, one day after tomorrow would be the day we've both been dreading.

The start of the 74th annual Hunger Games.

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	14. Prying Peeta

**I do not own the Hunger Games**

* * *

_Katniss' POV_

So warm. So cozy. I'd never had such a good night's sleep before. I didn't even want to open my eyes. I realized that I was hugging something. Probably just a pillow. I cuddled it closer, appreciating the comfort it gave me. At least, that was until I noticed that the pillow was hugging me back. Forcing myself to open my eyes, I found a sleeping Cato holding me in his sleep.

And so, of course, I screamed. Loudly. As in a thundering, ear splitting, cacophonous scream. It's no shocker that this woke him up too.

"Mm, what's wrong? Go to sleep," he mumbled.

"What the hell are you doing in my bed?" Instead of answering, he used one arm to cover his head with a pillow, whilst the other remained on top of me. "Don't touch me!" I hissed, shoving him away. Groaning, he sat up, and stared at me. As he did so, the blanket lowered a little, revealing his very alluring chest, packed with muscles, and inviting me to touch them. I had a serious headache. It must be the pain messing with my head.

"Don't you remember last night?" he asked, with a mixture of slight annoyance and disappointment in his voice. As I stretched my mind, attempting to figure out what he was on about, a hurried knock echoed into the room.

"Katniss?" Peeta's voice called from the other side. This snapped Cato fully awake. He began searching for somewhere to hide. However, he added, "I'm coming in." With my door opening, and Cato still on my bed, I only had one option left. I pushed him down, and covered us both with the blanket.

"Ouch," I heard him complain.

"Shut up," I whispered, preparing for Peeta to come in.

"Are you okay?" He rushed over, holding my shoulders.

"Um, yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" I forced myself to laugh, adjusting myself in a way to cover up the lump of Cato under the blankets. God, he was huge.

"I heard a shout."

"Oh, I just... just had a bad dream," I lied.

"You want to talk about it?"

"_No_!" I exclaimed in fear that Cato would get caught. "I mean... No, I'm alright. I've already forgotten most of it anyway." He nodded in understanding, but then narrowed his eyes.

"Hey," he said, pointing at the trolley with mostly empty bottles. "Isn't that Haymitch's alcohol cart?"

"Um, yeah... I was a little nervous last night, and drank a little - _just_ a little - to help me calm down a bit. Haymitch drank most of it." At first, he seemed satisfied with my answer, which I hoped was plausible, but then he asked something else.

"Why is there male clothing on the floor?"

"What is this, an interrogation?" I forced myself to laugh. "I simply like to wear guy clothes. They're comfortable."

"Even," his stare was locked on a part of the floor that I couldn't see, "underwear?" Following his gaze, I found that there was indeed a pair of boxers lying on the floor. My eyes widened in disbelief, and I had to force myself to not pull Cato out from under the covers.

"Yes. Even underwear," I forced myself to say seriously. "What? Am I not allowed to wear male underwear?"

"Wait, what?"

"I..." I said slowly, taking in a deep breath, "I like to wear men's boxers."

"Whose clothes do they even belong to?" The way he asked this sounded like he was accusing me of something.

"_Hey_," I began, irritated at whatever he was thinking, until I realised my mistake. I had to correct myself. "_Hey_... Mitch. Right... Haymitch."

"Er, right..." he trailed off, confusion plastered on his face. "Since I'm here, can I talk to you about yesterday?"

"Um..." I could feel Cato moving under the blanket.

"I mean, I'm sorry for surprising you yesterday with what I said, but the thing is it's all true, and I - "

"Peeta, not right now," I interrupted. "I just woke up. We'll talk later, yeah?" He agreed and in a painfully slow manner, he left my room, shutting the door behind him. As soon as he did so, Cato's head popped out from under the blanket, desperately gasping for air, whilst choking on a wild fit of sudden laughter.

"Oh dear God," he scoffed.

"Why is your underwear on my floor?" I had to force myself to keep my voice low. "What's going on?"

After a few minutes, Cato managed to collect himself. "Right, well, yesterday we came here for the potion. You remember that, right?"

"Yeah, but why're you in my bed?"

"I'm getting to it, I'm getting to it. Don't rush me." I glared at him. "'I like to wear men's boxers'." he quoted me, smirking.

"Oh shut up," I said, punching his arm, but found myself smiling too. "C'mon, tell me!"

"Well, we just drank a bit to calm you down, and then fell asleep. By the way, how is your ankle?"

I wondered if sleeping was all we did. "Quite sore I think, but improving. I haven't put my weight on it yet - Stop distracting me! Go and pick up your damn underwear!"

"Yes, ma'am!" And with that, he jumped off of the bed, leaving me under the covers, and revealing... Well, revealing a naked Cato. Covering my eyes, I hid under the covers. I definitely did not recall him removing them.

"Oh yeah, you're a virgin, right?"

"I'm blind! You've blinded me!" I complained.

"So dramatic," he scoffed.

"You could've given me a warning or something. Have you covered yourself?"

"Yep." Hesitantly, I opened my eyes. He was, once again, wearing his underwear.

"Why weren't you wearing them in the first place? Actually," I said, taking the blanket off, "why am I barely wearing anything?"

He shrugged. "It was hot."

"Whatever. Turn around." My head was killing too much to care right now.

"Why?"

"I need to get changed." He didn't say anything. "I'd prefer it if you weren't looking."

"Okay. You turn around too, then." I had no idea why he'd ask me to turn around if he was already comfortable with me seeing him naked, but I didn't feel like arguing. I was still sat on my bed, but looking the other way, trying to find my clothes. Once I wasn't looking at him, he crawled onto the bed, hugging me from behind.

"What're you doing?"

"Nothin'"

"Get off."

"Only if you hug me back." He grinned.

"No."

"Then I'm not letting go."

"Leave me alone!"

"Do you really, truly, actually, seriously, literally not remember last night?" he asked, sounding slightly upset, but trying to cover it up with his childish personality.

"I don't. Not let go."

"Nope." We were both so stubborn that I knew that this could go on forever. In order to get ready quickly, I decided to just give him what he wanted. I turned around to meet his face, his hold on me loosening. Since he's quite a bit taller, I had to kneel upwards. I placed my hands on his shoulders, and then slowly pulled him close. We remained there for a while, with neither of us saying anything, wrapped in each other's embrace. Although I don't want to admit it, I liked it. Memories of last night flooded back, and I remembered our drunken kiss last night. This made me hold him tighter. I wanted to kiss him again. To taste him one more time without the influence of alcohol.

"Okay?" I asked, moving back a little.

"Y - Yeah." He sounded flustered. "Are you okay?"

Deciding not to think about it, I cupped his cheek, and sweetly kissed his lips. Due to shock, he didn't have time to react.

"Now I am." I smiled up at him. I think we've been through enough to classify as friends. I guess I didn't want to be just friends though.

"You remember?"

"Mhm."

"Oh, what are you doing to me?" he sighed, sounding like he'd been defeated, as he laid on his back again on the bed.

"Simple," I said, curling up next to him. "I'm captivating you, Cato."


	15. Old Obligation

**I do not own The Hunger Games**

* * *

_Katniss' POV_

"C'mon, get up," I said, moving away from him to get dressed.

"No," he mumbled, and pulled me back into a tight hug on the bed.

"Cato," I giggled. "Stop!"

"Make me." He tickled me. I have to admit that it was fun, but I was outside of my comfort zone. I still needed to get dressed and Cato was only in his boxers. Unexpectedly, reality invaded my thoughts in an instant.

"Cato..." He noticed the change of tone in my voice, and let go. He looked at my face, and nodded, waiting for me to say something. "What are we doing?"

"Does it matter?" he asked, placing a hand on my cheek. Gently, I pushed it away.

"Of course it does. Tomorrow is the Hunger Games."

He paused before answering, "We don't need to think about that now."

"Yes we do."

"Katniss..." his voice cracked. He knew. We were going to have to kill each other. He knew, yet he was ignoring it. I felt my own throat starting to close up, and I felt like I was about to cry. It was irritating. How dare my own body betray me?

Blinking away the stinging in my eyes, I said, "I propose an idea. We have to go to the interview today to clear up the _misunderstanding._ We will pretend to hate each other. We can have some fake argument or something. And then... And then we just don't acknowledge each other anymore." His eyebrows were furrowed, and I felt nervous.

"Is that what you really want?" Cato asked.

"Yes," I managed to whisper. I saw his fists clench.

"No more us?"

"There was no 'us' to begin with. We need to stop playing around, and take things seriously." I didn't want to say it, but it was true. I had to go back to being tough Katniss. I wasn't acting like myself, and if I continued like that, I was going to be killed.

"Okay," he solemnly replied. "Although..." His voice took on a cheeky tone. "It's hard to take what you say to heart with you sitting in your bra and underwear right now."

"Cato!" I moaned.

"Maybe you want to try on some of Haymitch's underwear now?" he scoffed.

"Whatever!" I sighed, attempting to hold back my laughter. I knew we weren't going to be able to go back to ignoring each other, but I had to try.

Eventually, I managed to convince him to take the situation seriously and prepare for the interview later. Now that we had a plan, I was sure that we could fix things. Maybe I still had a chance to go back home... To go back to Prim.

* * *

What the hell had been wrong with me? I needed to get my head straight. For the last few hours, I've been training hard and getting tips on how to survive. Soon now, Cato and I were going to need to attend the interview. Leaving the training room, I went back to my quarters and changed into more comfortable clothing. I joined the others for lunch.

"Where you been all day?" Haymitch asked.

"Training," I muttered. Effie decided to join in.

"Oo, your determination is excellent Katniss! Well done. Oh, I'm so proud of you. Aren't you proud, Peeta?"

"Uh, sure," he agreed absentmindedly. As Effie continued with her ramblings, I began thinking to myself. What if Cato and I messed things up? This interview was our last hope. We couldn't allow anything to go wrong. Everything was at stake. I felt my heart rate speed up in nervous anticipation.

"Right Katniss?"

"Huh?" I looked up.

"Oh, nothing." Effie shook her head slightly.

"Oh, okay. Well... Excuse me." I needed to get out. Perhaps a walk would help. As I pushed my chair in and began walking away, Peeta grabbed my wrist.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Er, sure. Go ahead."

His eyes fell upon the others around us for a moment before he added, "Alone?" Oh, why couldn't he just leave me be? My nerves were skyrocketing. We walked to the rooftop in silence. I remembered my little incident with Cato up here and had to shake my head to clear my thoughts.

"So... What's up?" I ask.

"Why have you been acting so strange lately?"

"Huh?"

"You and Cato. What's going on between you two?" How dare he ask that? My face must have displayed my shock because he looked away in shame.

"Nothing at all," I attempted to say nonchalantly.

Peeta laughed dryly to himself and replied, "Yeah right. C'mon, tell me."

"I told you nothing! It's not like it's even any of your business," I snapped.

"You know how I feel about you..." he muttered.

"So? That doesn't mean that I owe you anything."

"Alright, well... If you won't tell me anything about him, can't you at least do me a favor?" He suddenly looked very nervous, and was biting his lip. I raised my eyebrow.

"What...?"

Gazing up, he locked eyes with me, and firmly requested, "Kiss me." There was a moment of silence whereby I stared him down. I realized he was serious.

"Don't joke around," I muttered after a while, waving him off.

"I'm not joking." I tried to walk away, but he held onto my arm.

"Peeta, stop."

However, his grip tightened and he hissed, "I'll tell the interviewers about your relationship with Cato, and how you even have another guy back at home - Gale, your supposed 'cousin'." I gasped, struck by this new side of Peeta. I never knew he had this in him.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me," he whispered savagely. I stood there stunned for a moment. I could feel my own lips quivering and me eyes stinging. It was the thought that anything bad would happen to the people I care about because of me. I loved Gale to pieces. He was such a loyal friend. And Cato... Well, I didn't know what we were, but we sure as hell weren't simply rivals anymore. I was debating what to do when Peeta did something unexpected again.

"I - I'm sorry..." he murmured, face aghast. He looked absolutely petrified when he looked at me. It was so different to the harsh tone he was using only moments before. He released my arm. "I don't know what came over me. I don't know... I... I..." he stammered at a loss for words.

"It's fine, just forget it."

"No..." he instantly had a very urgent expression. "It's not fine. I don't know why I - " And he broke down into tears. Oh crap. I looked around, hoping nobody was around. "I'm sorry," he repeated. "Please don't hate me. Please, please."

I couldn't help it. I was soft. Reaching for his face, I wiped away the tears. His eyes that I only then noticed were blue had a moist red tinge surrounding them. They were so familiar and I couldn't help but to forgive. Those eyes. Such kind eyes. I remembered a while back to when I was starving.

It was raining heavily and I was on death's door. Yet, I saw those pretty eyes, and was given two loaves of bread. They were what saved mine and my family's life. Yes, that's right. The boy with the bread. He saved me... I owed him.

On another note, I'd made a little promise to myself to try and stay away from Cato. He may have had a bad reputation, but he was truly a good guy, and I didn't want to ruin his chances. I wouldn't be involved with Cato anymore, but I could at least pretend I was for a moment. So, I gave myself this.

Closing my eyes, I imagined that I was with Cato, and began kissing Peeta. Although he was still at first, he started joining in after a moment. His lips felt somewhat like Cato's. Not as soft... And he wasn't as good at kissing. It's not that he was bad. Just... Cato was better. I couldn't help it. I kept thinking about how Peeta was not the one I wanted to kiss.

I had to visualize Cato.

Cato...

His dirty blond hair. Those alluring blue eyes. Not like Peeta's. Yes, Peeta's were blue. But Cato's... Sometimes when you looked into them, it was as if you could see a storm. Sometimes it was a hurricane, or even a frozen winter wonderland.

That's it. Just think of him. I began kissing Peeta more greedily, relishing just the memories of my short encounters with Cato. Then, I started thinking about the Hunger Games. It could get to the point that we'd have to kill each other. It was a given that there was chance for only one of us to leave the arena. If it came to it, would I really be able to kill him? I could only pray that somebody would finish him off first, albeit that was unlikely. Oh Cato...

The kiss came to a close, and my eyes were still not open.

"Katniss?" I felt like I couldn't breathe. Shakily, I looked up at him, and a look of concern came back my way. "Oh God, why are you crying?"

I was crying? Touching my face, I noticed that I was, and very heavily too. _What is Cato doing to me?_

"I'm sorry. Excuse me," I choked out, and ran.

I ran and ran and ran; there was no destination in mind. I just wanted to be anywhere but here.

* * *

**Wow. Well, there's no denying that I haven't updated in a long time - about 7 months to be exact. Apologies! I literally just logged on, saw some amazing reviews and that really inspired to start writing again. I'm dearly sorry that I was away for so long, but I'm back, and I hope to keep it that way. Thanks for all of your support! :)**


	16. Airing Anxieties

**I do not own The Hunger Games**

* * *

_Cato's POV_

I needed to clear my mind. I was forgetting who I was. My emotions were obstructing my original goal, and if I didn't control them, I was going to die. Why did I volunteer in the first place?

To win. To do my family and my district proud...

_To become the next great victor!_

So, to get my thoughts straight, I decided to go up to the rooftop for air. However, when I came close, I noticed Katniss race past me. She was running so fast, I doubt she even noticed me.

"_Fuck!_" I heard somebody shout. Looking out onto the rooftop, I saw Peeta walking around, kicking things and violently swearing. I was suddenly very worried, and with as much speed as I could muster, I followed Katniss.

When I turned the corner to a corridor, I found her sitting on the floor, head between her knees, and her arms on top. I crouched in front of her, and pulled her close.

"Cato," she gasped, pushing away. I pulled her back and held her in my arms. "Cato... What if somebody sees us?"

"It doesn't matter," I assured.

"It does. I've got to go." She sniffed, attempting to get up.

"Wait," I said, taking her hands in mine. "What happened?"

"Nothing." Her voice quivered. Liar.

"Please tell me," I requested.

"We can't be seen together. Let me go." True... Yet I couldn't bare to just leave.

"I'll let go once you tell me," I promised.

"But Cato, it's fine, really, I - " Interrupting her, I gently kissed her lips. Very delicately, so as not to break her fragile frame if I happened to be too rough. It was as if she were porcelain; she looked like she would shatter into a million pieces, yet her strength was much higher than it appeared to be.

"If you don't tell me, I'll keep kissing you here until the whole of Panem sees us."

"I just... Owed Peeta something so I gave it to him." She phrased her words ever so carefully. I bit my lip. Why was he raging on the rooftop? Clearly, Katniss didn't want to talk about it. As long as she wasn't in danger, I decided to let it go for now.

"C'mon. You've got to get ready," I said softly. "The interview is soon." She nodded, whilst I helped her up. "Do you remember what we're going to say?"

"Mhm."

"Okay, let's go." I walked with her towards the styling rooms, since we were going to have to go to get ready at some point anyway. As we were walking, we were surprised by something on the floor. The familiar smell was what got to us first. Blood. Blood and roses. The scent stung my nostrils.

Looking for the cause was when we saw a single white rose next to a small card. I prodded the rose with my foot, as Katniss picked up the card. It read:

_C &amp; K_

_I know it all._

_Think carefully about tonight._

_Do you really want to lie?_

"Cato, what's this? It has our initials."

"I've had a couple of these before..." I muttered to myself.

"Cato? What do you mean?"

"Oh." I snapped out of it. "I've gotten these sorts of notes before saying things like to tell everybody my secret or else they will and that I'm on my last chance. Things like that."

"And you never told me?" she gasped.

"I thought it was just a prank..."

"Cato, look at the rose," she hissed. "It's President Snow." No... It couldn't be. Could it? My eyes widened in realization. She nudged me out of my daze. "What are we going to do?"

"Well... We can't stop it now. We'll just have to go through with it."

"Are you sure? If that note is real, everything could be ruined."

"We'll just have to risk it. We'll improvise if something comes up... It'll all be fine," I assured.

"Okay," she agreed. We threw the rose and the note away and proceeded to go to the styling rooms.

* * *

_Katniss' POV_

"Finally, you're here!" Cinna greeted me, pulling me into a hug. "Hang on. Your eyes are puffy. Have you been crying?"

"I'm alright, don't worry. Sorry I'm late."

"Oh, it doesn't matter. You're here now. That's all that matters." He patted my back, and seemed to only then notice Cato. He nodded towards him in greeting. "Cato, your team most likely need to help you prepare. You better go."

"Yeah, sure..." He scanned my face, checking for if there were any signs that I would break down.

"I'm fine, just go. I'll see you later," I told him. He nodded and took a step towards me, but then hesitated and decided he better not.

"Okay, see you in a bit." Reluctantly, he left. Once he was gone, Cinna turned towards me.

"What was that about?"

"Nothing really," I tried to say, but I could never lie to Cinna. He just smiled at me.

"Do you trust him?" he asked. After a moment, I nodded shyly. He laughed in response.

"That's fine then. He seemed genuine to me. Just... Don't get too attached, okay? I'm sure I don't need to explain why."

"Yeah, I know," I said.

"Let's sort you out then."

I got changed into a dress and had all of my makeup and styling done. I looked into a mirror and gasped. Exasperated, I turned towards the stylist.

"Cinna! I can't go up looking like this."

"Katniss, there's a reason that we've decided for you to appear like this." I was wearing a very sexual red skater dress that made me feel ridiculously uncomfortable. I mean, I admit that it was beautiful, but there was no way that I could pull it off. My hair was in a fancy up do, with makeup that made me appear much more mature.

"I'm going to look like an idiot."

"You're gorgeous. Everyone will fall in love with you. Don't underestimate yourself," he said sternly, fixing a strand of hair behind my ear. "Now, go and talk to Haymitch. He said he needed to see you."

"Thank you Cinna," I murmur gratefully, pulling him into a hug.

After a few minutes, I found Haymitch.

"Woah sweetheart. They really fixed you up." I rolled my eyes. "I could fall for you."

Laughing, I asked, "What do you want Haymitch?"

"Nothing really. Just making sure that you and Cato know what you're doing."

"I don't know..." I hesitated. Should I tell him about the note that we found? Haymitch noticed that something wasn't quite right and his eyebrows furrowed.

"What's the issue?"

"Well, earlier today, Cato and I - "

"_Katniss!_" one of the stylists called. "You've got to go backstage now." Alarmed, I desperately looked at Haymitch. We didn't have time.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. Just give it your best shot. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain." I nodded and made my way backstage to find Cato already there. Nobody else was around; he pulled me into an embrace, whereby I buried my face into his chest, hiding the tears that threatened to leak out.

"I don't know if I can do it," I said, still hidden. "What if it's not believable?"

Soothingly, he rubbed my back, replying, "It'll all be fine. Even if we mess up, it's not the end of the world. We'll still make it." As if. We both knew that wasn't true. In the end, at least one of us would have to die. Despite this, we broke apart and sat down together, anxiously watching the screens for when Caesar would start. Seeking comfort, even if it was very minimal, I held his hand. There wasn't anybody here to witness us anyway.

Lights flashed and the screens flickered to life. It had begun.

Cato and I could hear it all. Caesar did an announcement, explaining why this interview was taking place today.

"And so, with that, should our guests join us now?" he asked. Then came the eager crowd's cheering and screams for us to go on. "Well then, here come Katniss and Cato!" With a final reassuring squeeze of our hands, we let go of each other, walking on with a bit of distance between us.

We could do this.

* * *

**Thanks for reading.**

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